West Beaver Lake Fishing near Houston, Alaska

• Overview

  The Matanuska-Susitna Borough entry here is West Beaver Lake, in Alaska. The water sits 187 feet up. With some 107 acres of water, there is room for a boat but no need of one. Bank access stretches around 1.8 miles in total. Nearest town is Houston, 3.2 miles off. Further out sit Big Lake (5.7 miles) and Meadow Lakes (8.5 miles). No border sits close enough to matter.

• Where to Fish on West Beaver Lake

  No published figure covers depth, so learn it as you fish. A soft bed grows weed late into autumn, which keeps fish shallow. Look for the band where the shallows give up and the bottom falls away. Matanuska-Susitna Borough records list rainbow trout, Coho salmon and sockeye salmon among the fish reported. Several of these carry legal protection or closed seasons; the rulebook comes before the rod. On West Beaver Lake the quiet end is the one worth the extra effort.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Average temperature peaks around 58°F in July and bottoms out near 9°F in January. The season turns properly here, and fish follow it closely. The lid usually goes in late April, which opens the strongest weeks of the year. Break-up near late April, freeze-up near early November: that is the shape of an average year. The middle of summer slows a little, with dawn and dusk carrying it. It holds true on West Beaver Lake more years than not.

• Tackle & Baits

  There is no clear statement anywhere on who can fish it. The slipway at Boat Launch is half a mile away. There is a jetty half a mile off, worth knowing on a busy day. For the trout, small spinners and a box of nymphs cover both approaches. Bank access can be seasonal on ground like this. Access can change hands, so last year's answer may not hold. For a change of water, Big Beaver Lake is 0.6 miles distant. Nothing on West Beaver Lake should be assumed from this page alone.